Spider Orchids are on the wain
They’ve had their fifteen minutes of fame
Only dried up stalks remain
It’s time for them to take a bow and leave
Entering the park through Long Meadow, I finished up my morning commute by taking in a delightful display of wild flowers. Pale Flax and Yellow Rattle were abundant in the field, with Horsetail populating the bottom of the hedge to my right. Common Spotted Orchid stems were growing tall, their flowers soon to emerge.
South Field was strewn with Birds Foot Trefoil, several of which hosted Froghopper nymphs, shielded in their protective blanket of Cuckoo-spit. Apparently it tastes disgusting. I can neither confirm nor deny. Snatches of Chaffinch song were audible, and as I entered Saxon field, a Jackdaw swooped low in front of me before wheeling round to land some distance away. The last shrivelled remnants of a few Early Spider Orchids were still visible, but my attention was drawn by the much more vibrant carpet of Horseshoe Vetch and Chalk Milkwort.
Wren and Chiffchaff song accompanied my stroll towards Centenary Meadow, with Skylarks filling the sky ahead with their incredible displays. The meadow itself had an impressive showing of Ox Eye Daisy.
Up on the Downs, a few Early Purple Orchids were still in flower. Whilst I stopped to admire them, my eyes fell upon a series of butterflies alighting on the grass. A pair of Adonis Blue, a Small Copper, and later a Painted Lady. A Yellowhammer chirped from a bush, refusing to sing. No bread or cheese again today.
Returning via the coast path, Fulmars skirted the cliffs below. A Goldfinch perched and sank on the Tamarisk above Tilly Whim, and a Speckled Wood fluttered delicately beside me through the woods as I approached the Learning Centre. The richness of wildlife this time of year is fantastic, you can’t help but become immersed in it.